A Moment Of Solace (AV1)
by rhendarzon
Summary: Rhen makes peace with her past to make way for her future.
**Characters:** Rhen D.

 **Idea:** In the game, Rhen was constantly seen rejecting the idea of being Queen, so for her to choose being Queen at the end of the game felt a bit off. I decided to flesh out a little scene. Also, it gives me a chance to explore Rhen's character a little, seeing as I hardly write her in such a serious tone.

 **Note:** I was interested in Rhen and Alicia's dynamic, or how they would've gotten along as mother and daughter.

* * *

The royal burial grounds were eerily still and quiet. Rows of tombstones stood erect in the silent fog, not unlike a sea of the dead. Weak sunlight peeked through the yew trees, giving the place a surreal atmosphere.

It did not frighten her, however, and Rhen Darzon laid her shield and sword down on the grass. She knelt down on one knee, head bent in respect. After a moment of silence, she looked up and brushed several dead leaves off the top of a granite headstone that was in front of her. Frowning, she flicked a dead bug away. Her fingers paused and hovered over the name, expertly chiseled and engraved into its rough surface.

 **ALICIA PENDRAGON** , it read.

Rhen let her fingers come in contact with the name and closed her eyes. The stone was cool beneath her fingertips. She traced the name gently and gave out a small sigh.

"It's me, Your Majesty," she said finally, opening her eyes. She flicked another dried twig off the stone, sending it flying into the grass. "I'm your daughter... but I'm sure you know that."

A hawk cried out and Rhen looked up at the cloudy, grey sky. Thunder rumbled faintly in the distance. She paused a while before speaking again.

"I was so young when you - when you died. Pa told me I was barely a week old when he brought me to Clearwater." A cricket hopped onto Rhen's arm but she barely registered its presence.

"I have no memory of you at all. I can't remember if you kissed me. I can't remember if you held me in your arms, or if you sang to me, or if you smiled at me."

A blue centipede emerged from the loose soil near her knees and Rhen ignored it. It wriggled away, disappearing into the tall, unkempt weeds.

"Seventeen years. Seventeen years I grew up without knowing you. I don't know what you like to eat. I don't know your favourite colour. I don't even know if you like marionbells."

A small smile touched Rhen's lips.

"Do you? Do you like marionbells? I do. They're pretty." Her sword caught her eye. Rhen stared at the shiny blade, recalling a memory.

"I _do_ know one thing about you though," she said softly. "Your citizens told me you never liked being Queen of Thais. They said you hated the responsibility, that you always wanted to get away from the castle. They said you were hot-headed and was as stubborn as a mule. Turns out, we're not so different after all," she continued, laughing to herself.

"But then again, I'm sure you know that too."

A peal of thunder rolled overhead. The first raindrop fell onto the tombstone, turning its surface a darker shade of grey. Still smiling, Rhen slipped her hand into her pouch and let her fingers curl around a ring. She pulled it out and held it in the air, studying it. A fat raindrop landed on the ring's green gem, encasing the world in its tiny dome.

"I found out, just weeks ago, that I was your daughter and Princess of Thais. This... Sigma ring is apparently proof of that. Pa told me this ring is the only link I have left of you, of my lineage, of Thais. All I have to do is present this ring to the Chancellor and the throne is mine to ascend."

At that moment the skies opened and rain began to pour.

Rhen gingerly placed the ring on top of the wet tombstone. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head toward the sky and let the cold water cool her skin.

"But you know what _I_ think?"

" _I_ think I should _throw_ this ring away, where nobody can find it. Let it sink forever in the middle of the Eldredth Ocean or something," she said grimly. The freezing fog wrapped around her like a blanket and she shivered, wet to the bone.

Blinking rain water from her eyes, Rhen rubbed her bare forearms and looked around. The tombstones stood mysterious, looming out at her through the rain in their whitened haze like images from a half-forgotten dream. It was as if the Pendragons of old were watching her, whispering to her.

Judging her.

Rhen took a deep breath, sudden unwanted tears stinging her eyes. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I just _don't_ want to claim the throne. I don't want to be Queen of Thais."

"I was raised by a shoemaker and a seamstress. I was raised a peasant girl and I liked it. I had a great life back in my village before I came to know about this prophecy. I was going to marry a village boy. I was going to be an apple farmer and grow different types of apples and have children and grow old. Not... _this_."

Rhen squeezed her eyes shut, but couldn't prevent the tears from rolling down her cheeks. Sadness overtook her and her slender shoulders shook slightly, her silent tears mixing with the rain and dripping into her open palms.

"You had it easier than me, I think. At least you grew up knowing that you were a Princess, that you were next in line for the throne, even if you didn't want it. It's different for me."

Rhen roughly wiped her wet face with the back of her hand and sniffled.

"I am exhausted. I am just seventeen. I should be playing with my friends or helping Ma out with her sewing or even preparing myself for marriage. Instead I was captured and made a slave. Then I find out I have sword magic. And then I am told I have to save the world. _Then_ I find out I have sword magic. And then I am told I have to save the world. And then I have to recognise my lineage as Princess of Thais and ascend the throne as Queen."

"That is _madness_. Doing that will mean I leave everything I've known, everything I _love_ behind... Clearwater, my childhood, my parents... I can't bear to do that."

A sudden anger welled up within her. Rhen glared at the tombstone through her tears and lunged forward rashly. She gripped the tombstone hard, her knuckles turning white at the effort.

"Why me?!" she cried, breathing hard. "Why did it _have_ to be me?"

" _You_ were supposed to stop Ahriman. Talia, Devin and _you_ were supposed to stop the prophecy in its infancy. You were supposed to rid Aia of the demon, once and for all. But you did not!"

Rhen gave up trying to stifle the sobs within her. Her pent-up frustration overcame her body in the form of a silent scream and her shoulders trembled. Now sobbing openly, she embodied the picture of grief, anger and denial.

"You failed!" she cried brokenly, hitting the wet tombstone. Her careless action resulted in scraped skin, but Rhen hardly noticed.

"You failed. And then you died! You left me behind to pick up the pieces..."

Lips quivering, Rhen released the tombstone and sank dejectedly to her knees. She pressed her forehead to the cool stone, sobbing quietly. The rain continued to pour, hitting her rhythmically on the back and rolling off in tiny streams.

"You left me behind..."

Sighing, she let the sentence trail off.

Rhen felt a heavy weight lift from her chest as her sobs subsided into weak sniffles. She took a deep breath and straightened herself, pushing her matted hair away from her face.

"I'm sorry," she whispered weakly. She lifted her face toward the sky again, relishing in the feeling of heavy raindrops hitting her skin.

There was a long pause before she spoke again.

"I didn't mean any disrespect," Rhen murmured. She looked down, eyes pink with exhaustion. Reaching for the sigma ring, she dropped it back into her leather pouch.

"I'm not going to throw it in the Eldredth Ocean, as much as I want to. I can't do it. I'll keep it with me, for now."

Rhen mounted her shield onto her back and reached for her sword. She wiped her wet face again with her free hand. "I have to go. We have yet to save Vata. He's the last Druid before we - before we face Ahriman," she said, getting up.

Hesitating, Rhen touched the engraved name once more. "Goodbye, Mother," she said softly. She knelt in respect, then turned on her heel and headed for the steel gates.

...

The downpour intensified, but Rhen took her time as she made her way out of the burial grounds. A biting wind blew and she shivered. Feeling chilled to the bone, Rhen hugged herself and headed in the direction of the Thais castle.

Lightning flashed in the sky just as she approached the castle doors. She stumbled into the Chancellor upon entering the warm interior of the castle and he stared at her.

"I hope you don't mind me asking this, Outlander, but..." he started.

"Yes?"

"What relation do you have with the late Queen Alicia Pendragon that you had to visit her final resting place?"

"I am... just an adventurer paying her respects to the fallen Queen of Thais."


End file.
